About the Commissioners

Peter Robinson

Peter is CIPFA and MBA qualified with eight years' experience as a Director of Finance/Resources (Section 151 Officer) at two unitary councils - Bristol City Council and Herefordshire Council. Over the past nine years, Peter has provided strategic support to financially challenged councils, including Slough, Croydon, Northamptonshire and Somerset.  He is currently the Chief Finance Officer at Gloucestershire OPCC which he does on a part-time basis.

Lesley Seary

Lesley has over 20 years of experience in senior roles across various London authorities, including her tenure as Chief Executive of the London Borough of Islington from June 2011 to April 2019. She undertook the external assurance review of Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole (BCP) Council, published in June 2023. Lesley serves as a Non-Executive Director at both Barking, Havering and Redbridge University Hospitals NHS Trust (since August 2019), and Barts Health NHS Trust (since February 2022).

Mervyn Greer

Mervyn served as a Director of Kier Group, a leading UK construction and infrastructure services company, from 2006 to 2016. In 2018, he was appointed by the Cabinet Office as Crown Representative, overseeing relationships with strategic government suppliers. In 2020, he was appointed by the Secretary of State as an Inspector for the Best Value Inspection of Liverpool City Council. Mervyn was part of the review team for the external assurance review of Woking Borough Council, published in May 2023, and was later appointed by the Secretary of State as a Commissioner at the same authority.

Deborah McLaughlin

Deborah has over 30 years' experience working in regeneration and housing across the public and private sectors. From 2021 to 2024, she was a Commissioner at Liverpool City Council leading on regeneration. Deborah has considerable Executive Director experience, including as Executive Director for the Homes and Communities Agency (HCA) from 2008 to 2016, and Housing Director for Manchester City Council.